Backing out rusted up Torx bolts ??????

[Carykong]

You may be able to avoid the cut off wheel and pry bar ordeal by simply drilling out the torx head and entire screw with a sturdy 1/2 drill. With a bit stop on the drill so you avoid damage to the steel portion of your trailer. Wooden boards will just lift out with no prying or cutting.

 

[jjcc246]

i did mine about 2 years ago. i put the torx (a good quality craftsman) on the screw head, tapped it a few times with a 3 lb hammer, 3/8 ratchet and a straight steady pull. everyone of them came off. while boards were off re-drilled all holes slightly larger than 1/4". when i put new boards on drilled up from the bottom through the wood and installed 1/4" carraige bolts, one in each board and each cross member. not a pleasant job but necessary. i used a good treated lumber 2 x 6 and hopefully never have to do it again, the carraige bolts will have to be cut off.

 

[Egon]

Ah, those lovely Torx self tapping screws!

My trailer was re decked last summer. I just cut the boards from the top and use a pry bar to break them off or pull them through rotten boards.

Ground the remaining stubs off with angle grinder.

When applying new decking used bolts. Placed the board and then drilled through board and support Chanel's. In some cases used pipe clamps to pull boards into alignment.

 

[dangier_VA]

All very good ideas for wooden deck removal. Last few trailer decks I have done, I did not redrill the cross metal beams to lock down the new deck. Just get fender washers that fit your bolts and drill the wood adjacent to the angle iron flange and clamp to the beam. Saves drilling time and more holes in the iron. You mentioned a 2" lip on the front. Your decking will not move and is held nicely with the fender washers as clamps. You can use more bolts too. Makes it easier if you should have to redo in the future.
PS-I also had to destroy the old deck on removal.

 

[JRobyn]

In my experience, Lowes will take back virtually anything if it is not damaged and in resellable condition, you are polite, and have a reasonable story about why you need to return it. Actually, any one of the above will usually do it!

- Jay

 

[6thgpSF]

I've returned lots of items to lowes,as long as you have a receipt you should'nt have any hassles. russ

 

[kebo]

I've decided to go ahead with my project. I just like it enough to want to keep it. It's 22 yrs old, so whether I actually get it repainted or not, it needs to be redecked for certain. The boards are in pretty sad shape now. Two of them are broken in the middle of it, up near the front of the trailer. Somehow a mean ole nasty stump crawled up under it and pushed up a couple of crossmembers (angle joists) so this will give me a chance to try and beat the crossmembers down with a sledge hammer. Stopped by a hardware store today and picked up a couple of 4.5" cutoff discs, and a nice new 30" prybar. Wish me luck!

 

[/pine]

If the screws are firmly rusted into the members...all you are going to need after the boards are pulled off is a hammer...there is a good chance all they will need is a wack or two with a little english and they should go flying...

Also there is a good chance if you smack sharply on the rusted up hole where the screw was there is a good chance that what is left of the screw shank and the rust flakes will jettison out after a couple of smart wacks...

 

[Coyote machine]

I'd take a different approach to removing the Torx bolts/screws. First wear goggles/ polycarbonate safety glasses for whatever you do on removing them; flying rusty screws is a real potential eye disaster in the making.
I would then have a few correct sized Torx drivers (that fit a 3/8" drive ratchet wrench) ready to sacrifice if needed. Then I would spray each and every one with Aero Kroil or similar and then whack each head with a hammer to loosen the bolt in the trailer subframe. After enough time to loosen up the rust try the Torx driver and a small breaker bar instead of a drill.
If this doesn't work then switch to a hole saw just slightly larger than the head of the screw and drill down to where the board meets subframe and remove each board after drilling out a core that encompasses the screw's head. No lifting, hopefully no prying, and possibly some cutting needed at the board ends where stuffed under the bracket. Once boards are removed then use cutoff tool and cut flush to deck. If wanted to reuse holes use a punch to set your hole site and prevent the drill's bit ability to roll off the remaining screw and drill out the hole. Then use self tapping ceramic coated Torx lags. Job completed for your lifetime, hopefully. :thumbsup:
Gold colored ceramic coated Torx lags are not cheap but they are terrific and you won't be breaking any of them from over torquing either.

 

[some zilch]

i have done many re-deckings of semi trailers. same concept, just a larger scale. there is no way some magic potion in a can is going to make those screws come out. i usually use an excavator with a thumb, and plunge the thumb through a deckboard and grab on to it.